Her Absence
by EdieRose
Summary: A lump grew in his throat as he watched his sneakers land next to hers. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he hurriedly wiped them away, but then he remembered what had happened and that there was no one there to see him cry.
1. Chapter 1

**Her Absence – Chapter 1**

**A/N: Hey! I'm Edie! This is my first Scrubs fanfic, so I'm sorry if it sucks :( I absolutely love JD and Elliot, they are one of the coolest couples ever.**

**Please bear in mind that this was written at 12 am, in the dark, with me having to slam my laptop shut every time my parents walked past my door, because if they knew that I was up this late, there would be no computer for six months, which means missing out on the last Scrubs episodes ever! Which I simply cannot have happen.**

**Anyhoo, it's set a while after the end of episode 8.16, and I know it seems really sad, but it gets better. Trust me. The whole thing is already written (in my head :D) and should be up tomorrow. **

John Dorian unlocked the door of his apartment, flipping on the light switch as he entered the living room. He kicked off his sneakers, them landing haphazardly next to Elliot's.

As he watched them land, a lump grew in his throat, tears springing to his eyes as he remembered what had happened. The tears began to flow, and he hurriedly wiped them away before remembering that no one was there, there was no one here to see him cry.

He squeezed his eyes shut and made his way to their bedroom, his bedroom, trying to block out the photos of them that hung on their wall and on the bench. But they had spent so much time looking at them that it was impossible to clear the images from his mind.

There was the one of them on top of the Eiffel Tower, wearing black berets and moustaches and chomping on a baguette, the same cheesy, childish grin on both their faces.

There was the one from the double date they'd had with Turk and Carla, Elliot's cheeks flushed with excitement, her eyes glittering with glee as JD spun her around and around in circles. He smiled through his tears; he could still remember the midnight blue dress she had worn, the one that kept whipping at his shins every time Elliot completed a circle, the one that was still hanging up in their closet, in between the red one she bought just last week and the black one that had been saving for a special occasion.

There was the dozens of them and Sammy, at a Wiggles concert, at the beach, on Sammy's birthday, on Elliot's birthday, at the zoo, in the park.

And then there was the one taken on the day of their wedding. Nothing, nothing in the world was more amazing than the look on Elliot's face in that photo. She was glowing. She was on top of the world, JD's arms wrapped securely around her waist, her hands resting on top of his arms, loving the feeling of the two delicate rings around the fourth finger of her left hand, loving the feeling of being held by her husband, loving the feeling of having the rest of her life to spend with the man of her dreams.

He smiled once again, and yet the tears flowed even harder than before. His mind drifted to the night they had gotten engaged.

_They were lying on a bed in the on call room, telling stories to each other, the tales getting more stupid and ridiculous as the time went on._

_Elliot giggled and sighed, her fingertips tracing random shapes on his arm._

"_You know, I've been thinking..." she smiled, drawing an intricate flower in the crook of his elbow. "And I think... we should get married."_

_The last four words were whispered so softly, yet they hung in the air above them._

_Elliot held her breath. She knew she was taking a risk allowing those words to escape her mouth, but at the same time she was glad she'd done it. She loved JD so much that it hurt, and she couldn't imagine a life without him. She was ready to take that step and ensure that JD belonged to her and her only. Well, Sammy could have a little piece too, but for the most part, Elliot wanted JD forever, and she hoped that he wanted her too._

"_I think," he said slowly, weighing each word carefully as if he were afraid they might come out all wrong. "That we should."_

_Elliot stopped drawing patterns on his arm and instead reached for his hand. She grinned in the dark and then the darkness whizzed by as he rolled her on top of him. She allowed her lips to roam until they found his lips._

"_I love you," she whispered, her lips brushing against his, as soft as a butterfly's wing. "So, so much."_

"I miss you," he whispered. "So, so much."

**Hope you enjoyed it! The rest should be up by tomorrow, but if Friday rolls around and there's no peep outta me, PM me and cyber-yell at me for being such a lazy-ass.**

**Oooh and review! S'il vous plaît :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Her Absence – Chapter 2**

**A/N: First of all, thank you to all of the lovely reviews I got, but a special thank-you to Katherine, who read my story despite having never really watched Scrubs before, and left a lovely review. This one's for you :) **

**The song is "The Animals Were Gone" by Damien Rice. I kinda reordered parts of it, just so it really applied to this story. Oh and I haven't seen all of P.S., I Love You. I got about 20 minutes into it before deeming it too sad and stopping it. But I did see the bit I mentioned. Oh and yeah I'm probably not going to do an epilogue, but depending on reviews, I might. :)  
**

Succumbing to temptation, he made his way to their bedroom.

He flopped down on her side of the bed and drew his cell out of his pocket.

His fingers flying over the buttons (he never had to put her on speed dial, he felt it more special if he knew her number by heart), he called her cell.

It struck him that he was doing exactly what Holly had done in _P.S., I Love You_, phoning her husband's cell just to hear his voice. He remembered when they had watched that movie together.

_It wasn't very long after Elliot and JD's wedding, and they were sitting at home, still relishing that newlywed feeling. _

"_Babe, you don't mind what we watch, do you?" Elliot asked, wrapping her arms around JD's waist from behind._

"_Somehow I don't think I'm going to be focusing on the movie, he grinned, spinning her around and pressing his lips to hers._

_She giggled and kissed him back. "How about a rom-com?" she murmured against his lips._

"_We're better than any couple in those," he whispered deepening the kiss._

_She sighed, and pressed herself into him, feeling the lines of his body meet hers. "Come on," she whispered seductively. "Save it for later."_

_She pried herself out of his grasp and laughed when he pouted, kissing his pout before putting on her serious face. "Seriously, what do you want to watch?"_

"_Anything's fine," he sighed. "Actually, on second thoughts, can we watch something with Hilary Swank? Because after seeing _Million Dollar Baby_, I'm quite interested to see her versatility."_

"_Yes, dear." Elliot's face was amused as she walked over to the DVD cabinet._

"_How about _P.S., I Love You_? That has Hilary Swank and that sexy Gerard Butler."_

"_Well you have your own sexy John Dorian here! G-Buttz' got nothing on me."_

"_Yes, dear," Elliot repeated, snuggling up against JD as the movie began to play._

"_That was so sad." Tears were streaming down Elliot's face as they had been for the majority of the movie._

"_I don't know what I'd do if you died," JD whispered, blinking back tears._

_Elliot spun around and stared him straight in the eye, conviction on her face. "You'd keep right on living. No matter what happens to me, you've still got Sam, and Turk, Carla, Dan and your mother. You can't end your life just because of me."_

"_Yes Elliot, but without you, I'd just be a shell of my former self."  
_

As he expected, Elliot didn't pick up. Instead he got her voicemail.

"_Hey, you've called Elliot Reid. Leave a message."_

"Hi babe, I guess I just wanted to hear your voice. And tell you that I love you and miss you so, so much."

He hung up and sighed, taking a sleeping pill from the container by his bed, as he had done for the last few nights.

While he was waiting for them to come into effect, he picked up Elliot's iPod from the bedside table. He unlocked it, wanting to see the last song she'd listened to.

_  
Woke up and for the first time, the animals were gone,_

_It's left this house empty now, not sure if I belong,_

_Yesterday you asked me to write you a pleasant song,_

_I'll do my best now, but you've been gone for long_

_  
Oh I know that I left you in places of despair,_

_Oh I know that I love you, so please throw down your hair,_

_At night I trip without you, and hope I don't wake up,_

_'Cause waking up without you is like drinking from an empty cup_

_  
I know I've been a liar and I know I've been a fool_

_I hope we didn't break yet, but I'm glad we broke the rules,_

_My cave is deep now, yet your love is shining through,_

_I cover my eyes, still all I see is you_

_  
Oh I know that I left you in places of despair,_

_Oh I know that I love you, so please throw down your hair,_

_At night I trip without you, and hope I don't wake up,_

_'Cause waking up without you is like drinking from an empty cup_

_  
Woke up and for the first time, the animals..._

The sound of the bedroom door opening awoke JD from his sleep. He jumped up, startled, and in the light spilling through the open door he could make out a slight frame.

"Elliot?!" he whispered, unsure if it were really her or not.

"Hey," she said, and in the half light he could see the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile.

"Wha-? Whe-? How? Wha-?" he stammered.

"I got your message," she grinned. "And something in your voice told me you needed me so I flew home. The conference was dead boring anyway. Plus I left my iPod behind."

She crawled under the covers and curved her body around his, twining her arms around his waist.

"I missed you so, so much. It felt like, like you were dead or something."

"I was gone for three days, plus I talked to you like, five times everyday. Six times yesterday."

"Still. It wasn't the same without you."

"Speaking of not-being-the-same. JD, I have something to tell you."

She rolled over until she was staring him straight in the eye.

"I'm pregnant."

"What? No, what, really? Seriously?"

"Yep," she smiled. "I took a test while I was away. I just wanted to come and tell you myself. We're going to be parents!"

JD wrapped her in his arms and kissed her hair.

"I love you."

**Did'ya like it? This one was written during my Science class :) So you better review and give me information on the properties of Acids and Bases :P**

**Oh yeah and I know I'm evil. I had you all convinced that something horrible had happened to Elliot, didn't I?! As if I would ever do that to them. They've created enough trouble on their own, thanks very much.  
**


	3. Epilogue

**A/N: I'm baaaaack! Told'ya I wanted to do an epilogue! Most of this was done weeks ago, but then I got Facebook (the worst thing for a serial procrastinator like me :D) and went on camp. So that sucked. Anyway, it's finished now! Hurrah! Read and review, please. You guys are the best at reviewing, I've got like 16 reviews on my Scrubs story, which is the total amount of reviews I received on all of my Gossip Girl stories put together, so keep up the good work! Oh yeah and I'm having A LOT of trouble with the spacing on this site, so my apologies for that.**

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A heavy, sad feeling hung in the air, bringing everyone's spirits down. This day had been imminent for months now, but even with all the time to prepare, it was still ridiculously hard to say goodbye.

"I'll call you as soon as I land. Don't forget to change her diaper, feed her every three hours and be careful because when she walks she tends to fall over a lot. Do not let her near stairs and remember to read her a story before she goes to bed. Oh my God I am so not ready to do this!" Elliot blubbered, tiny tears running down her cheeks.

"Relax, sweetheart. We're going to be fine. It's five days, you'll be back before you know it. Plus, Emsie and I are going to be having soooooo much fun, we'll forget all about Mommy, won't we Em?" JD smiled and tickled his fifteen-month-old daughter, who was wrapped around Elliot, savouring her time with Mommy before she went away.

"I know. I'm just going to miss you both so much!" Elliot smiled sadly and buried her face in Emma's hair.

"Mommy!" Emma squealed. "I miss Mommy!"

"I know you will, sweetie." Elliot and JD looked at each other with mixed expressions of sadness and uncertainty.

The incredibly annoying sound of the Public Address System sounded, announcing that Elliot's flight was ready for boarding.

"Alright, I guess this is it, then." Elliot smiled sadly, squeezing her daughter tight and kissing her hair. "I love you, Emsie."

"Loveoo, Mommy," Emma babbled while Elliot passed her to JD.

JD held his daughter firmly in his arms and leant in and gave his wife a lingering kiss.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

"Have a wonderful time, and we'll see you in a few days."

"Bye-bye, babies!" Elliot called over her shoulder.

"Say bye-bye to Mommy!"

"Bye Mommy!" Emma yelled.

JD and Emma watched sadly as Elliot ran her ticket through the machine and boarded the flight.

She turned her head to look longingly at them until she disappeared into the sky-bridge.

When she had gone JD couldn't help remembering what had happened the last time she was away, and how horrible it was for him. At least this time he had Emma for company.

An odd thought struck him as they were walking back through the airport.

Maybe, just maybe, this fantasy might work.

Elliot dumped her bag onto the queen-size bed, kicking off her heels and collapsing on top of the smooth cotton sheets, her dress bunching up and small tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. She stayed that way for several minutes, letting the tears slide down her face and soak into the sheets.

The doorbell rang, and she reluctantly lifted herself up off the bed, wiping the runny mascara off her cheeks and smoothing her dress down so she didn't look completely pathetic.

"Dr Reid?" the bellboy smiled when she opened the door. "I have your bags here."

"I'm sorry, there must be some kind of mistake because I only bought a small bag and it's in my room already."

"No, Dr. I'm fairly certain these are yours."

Intrigued, Elliot stepped out into the hallway.

"MOMMY!" Emma shrieked. She and JD were sitting on a baggage trolley that the amused bellboy had escorted up from reception.

Elliot ran over to them, her stockings slipping and sliding against the cold wooden floor, but not caring because every wobbly step bought her closer to her family.

"Emsie, Emsie, Emsie," Elliot repeated, burying her face in her daughters curly hair. "I missed you so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much!"

"Mommy!" Emma giggled, wrapping her tiny arms around Elliot's neck.

Elliot set Emma down and pulled JD into a bone-crushing hug. "Wha-? How-? Who-? Wha-?" she stammered, the words refusing to come out of her mouth.

"Shh," JD smiled, wrapping his arms around her with no intent of ever letting go. "Another flight left soon after yours. It took me about ten seconds after you'd gone to realise what a mess I was the last time you went away, and that I really didn't want you to ever leave us ever again. So here we are."

Elliot laughed and kissed JD with all her might. "I love you."

"Right back at ya," he chuckled and reached down and scooped up his daughter to join in the reunion.

And just like that, her absence became their absence.


End file.
